The end of May brings whispers of late spring, early summer activities and food. May is National Barbeque Month! Did you know? It took me nearly all month to come up with a killer barbeque (or bbq, for lazy orthographic artists).

First, let me say a little something about barbeque and what it is:

(n) bar·be·que: 1) a social gathering at which food is roasted over an open fire 2) a large animal (pig/cow) that is roasted over an open fire, spit, or pit.

(v) bar·be·que: 1) to cook pork in a highly seasoned vinegar sauce.

Pork. Always pork. No beef, no chicken.

[this is NOT highly debated in North Carolina. But! You have to join one camp or another: do you like it chopped, sliced, pulled; With the red slaw or the green?; Vinegar-based or spicy tomato based? On a bun or with hushpuppies? The possibilities and the fights over authenticity will never end. I'm sure. But you can always join the North Carolina BBQ Society and argue with those folks.]

So...you can either go to a barbeque or eat it. But let it be known, that in the South, we eat barbeque. We don't go to one. We go to cookouts. Or just Cook Out.I took it upon myself to make my own barbeque sauce for all of the meat I plan on roasting over the next 3 months. The wonderful people at POM Wonderful sent me a case of pomegranate juice and I drank a good bit of it, but I knew I needed to save some for culinary purposes.

Fast forward a few weeks and I'm drinking a local soft drink, Cheerwine, thinking about how great it'd be in a sauce. Cheerwine is Pennsylvania's equivilant to a wishniak. It's only sold in the Carolinas and there really is nothing like it. The fact that it comes in diet, makes it a staple in my kitchen. I digress...

So, bright idea #746: Pomegranate-Cheerwine BBQ sauce

The sesame seeds were just for photogenic quality. Hey, it looked pretty.

I used equal parts smoked salt, white pepper & my no-salt shake [a la Emeril] to rub down the ribs. I let them sit in the fridge for 8 hours before roasting.

Low & Slow: the keys to great ribs. 275 F oven for 3 hours. I basted the ribs after 90 min of cooking & had the sauce available or dipping at the table. Since I don't have my own grill in my tiny apartment, I have to cheat... A) use the stovetop smoker or B) use smoked salt.

Nikki, this looks absolutely delicious. I'll have to try it. Have you ever had a dish famous up in Harem called Waffles and Chicken? I just saw a special on Food Network (it was a Bobby Flay Throwdown) where this dish was served. The idea is really tempting.